Effect of trotting velocity on work patterns of the hind limbs of Greyhounds.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the effects of trotting velocity on joint angular excursions, net joint moments, and powers across the hind limb joints in Greyhounds. ANIMALS: 5 healthy Greyhounds with no history of lameness of the hind limbs. PROCEDURES: Small reflective markers were applied to the skin over the joints of the hind limbs, and a 4-camera kinematic system was used to record positional data at 200 Hz in tandem with force platform data while the dogs trotted on a runway at slow, medium, and fast velocities. Breed-specific morphometric data were combined with kinematic and force data in an inverse-dynamics solution for net joint moments and powers at the hip, stifle, tarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints.
RESULTS: Angle, moment, and power patterns at the various joints were conserved among the 3 velocities. With increasing velocity, moments and powers at the tarsal, stifle, and hip joints during the stance phase were increased in amplitude, whereas amplitudes during the swing phase were not. The main contributors to increased velocity were the hip extensors and stifle flexors during the early part of the stance phase and the tarsal extensors during the late part of the stance phase. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Increases in trotting velocity in Greyhounds do not alter the basic patterns of work and power for various joints of the hind limbs, but local burst amplitudes during the stance phase increase incrementally.